On February 25, the eight-time GRAMMY®-winning musician Stephen “Ragga” Marley will kick off an intimate acoustic U.S. tour in support of his latest 5-track EP, One Take: Acoustic Jams, released November 2018 on the Marley family’s Ghetto Youths International imprint. For one month, the 23-city run will span the South, Southwest and West Coast. Continue reading →

The Message of Love Tour Takes to the Road

February brought the kick-off of Julian Junior Marvin’s “Message of Love” tour 2019. The famed Wailers lead guitarist presented two sold out shows in Philadelphia (Feb. 1) and Washington, DC (Feb. 2). The band of talented musicians and singers were warmly welcomed inside Philly’s Ardmore Music Hall and DC’s Hamilton Live.

Featured on stage with Junior Marvin are Drix Hill and Samuel “Earth” Maxwell on keys, Dino Yeonas on guitar, Stephen Samuels on bass, Ken Joseph on drums, Brother Fitzroy James on percussion, and harmony songbirds Simone Gordon and Hassanah Iroegbu.

Both shows were billed as Bob Marley Birthday Celebrations and the fans and friends who joined in the party were not disappointed. From “Exodus” and “Could You Be Loved” to “Waiting in Vain” and “Three Little Birds” and all the favorites in between, Junior delivered a passionate and personal performance, telling the audience BMW stories and encouraging sing-alongs.

“In this great future, you can’t forget your past … so dry your tears I say…” (No Woman No Cry)

Mother Booker & MPeggyQ

Bob Marley: The Legend Lives On

A Conversation with his Mother… Cedella Booker

By M. Peggy Quattro

(RR Publisher MPQ shares her 1st interview with Ms B, at her home, in 1984)

(A link to a portion of the interview audio is below!)

Walking around the grounds surrounding the great house in southwest Miami, you sense the peace and comfort Bob found there. MOTHER B, looking radiant and youthful following a loss of 60 odd pounds, cheerfully discusses her own interesting part in this lingering legend.

I listen attentively as MOTHER B proudly points to her growing garden explaining what is there… “there’s calaloo and sugar cane, a yam hill and pumpkin patch.” As she speaks you detect the knowledge, wisdom and love this woman has for the growing of food. And so it should be . . . as the daughter of a well-respected and gentle farmer, Mrs. B grew to learn and love planting and farming. Born and raised in St. Ann’s, a rural [Jamaican] parish, a youthful Cedella worked hard with her brothers and sisters in the field high up in the village of Rhoden Hall (Nine Mile). This is where BOB was born February 6, 1945, and it was at some point a few years later the two of them packed off for a new life “to town” (Kingston). Continue reading →

May 11, 1981 was another beautiful Miami Monday morning. The excitement and anxiousness of starting a new job made for some tense nerves, not uncommon with the unknown. I drove to the Datran Center in South Dade to begin my new chapter as Don Taylor’s Assistant Manager. I arrived shortly before my 10 a.m. start time. Don Taylor Artist Management (D.T.A.M.) managed Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, and Gregory Isaacs, and this was all a bit much for me to believe. I knew of and loved all three singers since my days living in Nürnberg, Germany in the 1970s; sadlyI also knew these were the final days for Bob Marley on this earthly plane. Tense nerves, indeed.

My initial meeting was with Betsy Berg, the young lady I would be replacing. I passed the first round of interviews with her and she highly recommended me to Don Taylor. That week leading up to my first day had me meeting a few times with Taylor, always on the phone. “Why do you want this job?” was the first question. “Because I love Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff… I love the message, the music, the call for the underdog to “get up, stand up.” S eriously. It was the truth. It worked.

From his fancy hotel room in LA, the street-smart Taylor, a self-made millionaire who grew up in a waterfront East Kingston ghetto, played hardball over salary negotiations with Quattro, the little Italian from Steel Town Ohio. Following a moment of me saying, “Ahhh…no thanks,” we finally (thankfully!) came to an agreement. He filled me in on Bob Marley’s current condition and let me know Jimmy Cliff was flying in that week. He mentioned returning to Miami the next morning and asked that I come in for a meeting. Continue reading →

Since the departure of maestro Bob Marley in May 1981, Reggae industry personnel continue to grope for stability in a rocky music business world.

As the positiveness and righteousness of the prophet’s message become universally accepted, Brother Bob’s own personal estate and the effects have recently come under serious discrepancy.

The sordid details begin as far back as that day, May 11th, when Bob Marley’s earthly career climaxed at Miami’s Cedars of Lebanon Hospital. It was approximately 11am when manager Don Taylor received a call from Rita Marley instructing him to report to Cedars Hospital immediately. It was there he met Bob’s mother, Cedella Booker, who had devotedly been with her son to the very end. Continue reading →

Greetings brothers and sisters.It is an honor to be here and a privilege to share in this blessed occasion. Thank you Richard and Pearl, Anthony and Bob, Jimmy, Sharien and Rita, for sharing your mother with me – with all of us here – with the world. That could not have been easy.

Mother B’s Life Celebration, Miami, Apr 15, 2008

Ms B once told me that her purpose in life was to be around people, to share thoughts and to share love.That is our purpose here this evening.People at every turn wanted a moment with Mama…a quick visit …a word…a laugh… and those lucky souls, like me, left more inspired and uplifted than when we came. Continue reading →